The Beautiful

Atop Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Where "one inch on the horizon equal about 38 miles", Katharine Lee Bates hastily penned in her notebook the poem now known as America the Beautiful. The final expanded version was written by her in 1913. It is sung all over this country to the tune written by Samuel A. Ward which he had written for his hymn Materna.

Every verse of that poem, now song, has mention of God's grace or a prayer for God's help, something that is lacking in the most popular songs today (except maybe some country songs).

God shed His grace on thee and crowned thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.